Maui

The crop that once defined Hawai‘i is facing its final harvest. Next month, Hawai‘i Commercial & Sugar Company will close its operations. For many, the industry was more than just a place to work—it represented an entire way of life. HPR’s Molly Solomon recently visited Maui and has this report.

Plastic bags have been a point of political contention around the islands for years. In May of 2015, O'ahu became the last island to ban the use of most plastic bags at store check-out counters. This week, the Maui County Council considered toughening its ban on plastic bags—and extending it to other items that wind up in landfills. We get more on the story from Colleen Uechi of The Maui News.

A company called TEACH Development has been tapped by Maui County officials to rebuild remaining structure. Teach stands for technology, education, agriculture, community and health. In a meeting last week they pledged to work closely with the community to achieve plans to create an environmental education center within the historic architecture. The limited liability corporation was formed for the project, and was chosen by Mayor Alan Arakawa’s administration through a request for proposal process.

The large surf hitting the Hawaiian Islands is a welcome sign for big wave surfers competing in the Peahi Challenge at “Jaws” in north Maui.

The competition was put on “Green Alert” by organizers, and first heats are expected to begin as early as 7 this morning if favorable conditions hold. Forecasts call for light winds and surf around 30 feet, which is considered “medium” for the competition.

The competition is also hosting a women’s division for the first time in event history. Peter Mel is the Commissioner the World Surf League’s Big Wave Division.

A date has been set for the transition of three state-run medical facilities on Maui. The Board of Directors of the Maui regional Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation voted that starting July 1, 2017, Kaiser will take over operations.

Maui is getting a taste of Portuguese folk music this weekend with a performance by Fado singer Ramana Vieria.

Fado, which roughly translates to “Fate”, is a style best known for very delicate, melancholy, ballads about love and loss. It’s often described as the Portuguese equivalent of “The Blues”… and went on to influence Bossa Nova and some Hawaiian music. with roots traced back to the 1920’s.

Maui County is contributing money and resources for the eradication of coqui frogs. $1.2 million has been allotted to the Maui Invasive Species Committee to increase efforts to stop the spread of coqui during over a five-year plan.

Officials say if nothing is done, the tiny frogs will multiply to population levels that were previously seen on the Big Island. Maui Invasive Species Committee Manager Adam Radford says the 80 to 90 decibel screech is a threat to communities as well as tourism.

The State Department of Transportation has scrapped a plan to construct a seawall in West Maui following a week long protest. The plan was to build a wall of boulders near mile marker 16 along the shoreline of Honoapi‘ilani highway to protect the road from erosion. But environmentalists say the wall would threaten coral reefs and surf breaks by altering the natural flow of sand. They added that it would ruin beach access, and not truly alleviate the road’s safety issues.

Major flooding and heavy rain prompted an emergency proclamation Wednesday in Maui County. The wet weather knocked out a water line, flooded parks and homes, and caused several mudslides. HPR’s Molly Solomon says it’s just the latest in what’s been a wetter than normal couple of months.

One of key questions hanging over the state is what happens to the Alexander & Baldwin land on Maui after HC&S closes for good at the end of the year. While the phrase diversified agriculture seems to be on everyone's lips, what that means could be anybody's guess. We'll take up that up with Alexander & Baldwin President & Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Benjamin, HC&S General Manager Rick Volner, & Scott Enright, Chair of the Hawaii Board of Agriculture.

A settlement between the United Public Workers Union and the state was announced Friday. The state run Maui Memorial Medical Center, Kula Hospital, and Lanai Community Hospital will transfer to the supervision of Kaiser Permanente. Employees represented by the union will work under Kaiser until their contracts expire next June.

Scientists are getting a better idea of how sharks behave and why so many attacks have occurred off Maui. The study, commissioned by the state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources monitored more than 40 tagged sharks in waters off Maui and Oahu. HPR’s Molly Solomon shares their findings.

Carl Meyer is used to getting up close and personal with one of Hawai‘i’s apex predators. He’s spent the past two years tagging tiger sharks in Hawai‘i to study their behavior. He cues up a video from a camera he attached to a shark off Maui in January, peak mating season for tiger sharks.

Federal money is on the way to employees at Hawai‘i’s last sugar plantation. U.S. Senator Brian Schatz announced that the 685 Maui workers who will lose their jobs at the end of this year will qualify for financial help. Benefits include up to $2,000 a month, free tuition and books and other job training support. Schatz says the federal money is in addition to already existing state benefits for unemployment.

When Hōkūao Pellegrino was growing up in the ahupua‘a of Waikapū on Maui, he often played on an overgrown piece of family land, building clubhouses in the jungle of invasive species that crowded it. But when he became a young man—after he’d embraced ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i, studied native plants and woken up to his genealogical connection to the ‘land—he discovered that it had a powerful history: Buried deep beneath the jungle were lo‘i kalo his ‘ohana had cultivated for centuries, until the 1940s. Hōkūao decided to restore them.

Hōkūao Pellegrino is a kalo farmer on Maui in the region of Nā Wai ‘Ehā, The Four Great Waters.

“Nā Wai ‘Ehā is the poetic name for the moku, or division, that encompasses four ahupua‘a—Waikapū being the first, Wailuku being the second, Waiehu being the third, and the fourth Waihe‘e. These four streams, pre-Western contact, encompassed the largest kalo growing region in all of Hawai‘i.”

Officials of Maui County and Alexander and Baldwin are putting together a task force to assist workers displaced by the closing of the state’s last sugar mill.

Last week Alexander and Baldwin announced they would cease cane operations on Maui---affecting nearly seven-hundred workers. Beginning in March- half of the HC&S workers will be laid off, with the rest staying until the end of the 2016 harvest.

The Hana Pier was built in the early 1920’s. It was fenced off in 2010 after falling into disrepair with exposed holes and rebar in the deck. The Department of Transportation reviewed various options for rebuilding the pier but settled on its removal following public feedback.

Tim Sakahara is the spokesperson for the Hawai‘i Department of Transportation.